Get Involved In Your Community

Earth Day isn’t just about the things we can do for our environment – it’s also about getting involved in your community to teach others the importance of being eco-friendly. So Greenhome wants you to help everyone in your community feel the benefits of living green.

Did you know?

There are approximately 9,000 curbside recycling programs in the U.S.

The number of community composting programs has dropped from 3,227 in 2002 to 3,090 in 2010.

There are currently around 1.5 million acres of urban parks in the U.S.

New York’s Central Park gets 35 million visits a year; Lincoln Park in Chicago is second on the list of busiest parks at 20 million visits a year.

Plaza de la Constitucion in St. Augustine, FL is officially America’s oldest city park – it was founded by a Spanish ordinance in 1573.

Numerous studies have shown a link between outdoor educational programs and increased self-esteem and social skills in children.

13% of Americans do not have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling programs.

The Corporation for National and Community Service estimates that Americans volunteered 8.1 billion hours to local and national organizations in 2010.

A 2005 study from the University of Michigan found that older married adults showed greater health benefits from providing social support than from receiving it.

The closer people live to work the more likely they are to be involved in their community: a change in average commute time for a city from 26 to 29 minutes decreases the volunteer rate by 2.3%.

5 Easy Ways to Get Involved in Your Community

1. Volunteer – you can improve your community by volunteering to clean up local parks, working in a food bank, or doing whatever else the people in your town need. Check out nationalservice.gov to find opportunities in your area.

2. Donate – help your town by supporting local charities and parks programs.

3. Chose curbside – cities with curbside recycling programs have higher recycling rates than those without, so lobby to bring curbside programs to your city or expand existing ones.

4. Focus on schools – encourage local school to go green and support initiatives like recycling, composting, and serving wholesome lunches.

5. Get educated – issues like recycling programs, land use, and waste management are often handled at the local level, so learn who your representatives are and how you can get involved in the decisions that directly affect your community.